MW Taylor Sheridan wrote almost every word of 'Yellowstone.' Can its spinoff 'Dutton Ranch' succeed without him?

By Lukas I. Alpert

He's written hit after hit, but Sheridan is not involved in writing the 'Yellowstone' sequel - and that could test his magic touch

Taylor Sheridan has been responsible for much of Paramount's success, but he has stepped back from a writing role in the upcoming "Dutton Ranch."

When Taylor Sheridan first conceived of the hit TV series "Yellowstone," he was inspired by his own family's story of losing a ranch.

The tale of the Dutton family's fight to keep their Montana cattle ranch intact in a rapidly changing world flowed so intently from Sheridan that he wrote virtually every word of the series' five seasons by himself before its finale in 2024.

A sequel called "Dutton Ranch" - featuring two of the original show's most popular characters, Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler - is set to premiere May 15 on Paramount+, but this time Sheridan wasn't involved in the writing, serving only as an executive producer.

Can the show be a hit without him?

"It can succeed without Taylor Sheridan, but it needs someone who can execute it as well as he did. Obviously that is easier said than done," said Robert Thompson, the director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

The success of the show will signal how much Sheridan can continue to lift Paramount Skydance's $(PSKY)$ sails going forward. The company has relied on his otherworldly ability to produce hits for years, but his contract expires at the end of 2028, after which he will move to rival Comcast's $(CMCSA)$ NBCUniversal.

A big decline in ratings around Sheridan's shows could cast a shadow over Paramount's pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery $(WBD)$, which is expected to close in the third quarter.

A message left with a representative for Sheridan wasn't immediately returned. A person close to Paramount+ pointed to "Marshals" - another recent "Yellowstone" spinoff - as proof there can be life after Sheridan.

A police procedural about Dutton family son Kayce Dutton, a character who now works as an investigator, "Marshals" premiered on CBS in March, having been produced by Sheridan but written by someone else. So far, it has attracted strong ratings despite mixed reviews saying it lacked the dramatic scope of "Yellowstone," by relying on a format in which a crime is solved each episode. The show has been renewed for a second season.

Sheridan, 55, has charted an unusual path through Hollywood with his projects, shunning the typical "writer's room" approach where a group of writers work together to produce a series, and instead writing almost everything he has been involved with by himself.

In an exceptional level of productivity, Sheridan received sole writing credit on almost every episode of "Yellowstone," plus its two prequels "1883" and "1923." He is also the only listed writer for every episode of both seasons of the hit series "Landman" about Texas roughnecks and oil wildcatters.

He penned the entirety of both seasons of the spy thriller "Lioness," plus the first season of "Mayor of Kingstown." He has also directed many episodes of all of those series.

The only shows Sheridan has been involved with that he didn't largely write have been "Lawman: Bass Reeves," for which he was an executive producer, and the Sylvester Stallone vehicle "Tulsa King," which Sheridan created but largely left in the hands of showrunner Terrence Winter, who created "Boardwalk Empire" and helped write "The Sopranos."

So far, "Yellowstone" fans online have reacted strongly to trailers for "Dutton Ranch," which follows Kelly and Rip as they relocate from Montana to Texas and encounter ongoing drama and pressure from outside forces as they try to settle there.

For this series, Paramount turned to writer and producer Chad Feehan to serve as creator and showrunner and forge a path forward without Sheridan. Feehan had previously created "Lawman: Bass Reeves," an eight-part miniseries Sheridan produced for Paramount+ in 2023.

But in possibly an ominous sign, Feehan left "Dutton Ranch" in April, before a single episode had aired, amid reports he had clashed with key cast members and that Sheridan was unhappy with the way the show had been run.

Many observers have pointed to the career path of "Grey's Anatomy" creator and uber-producer Shonda Rhimes as an indicator of where Sheridan could be headed.

"Grey's Anatomy" has continued as one of the longest-running scripted shows in television history despite Rhimes having stepped aside from running the program nearly a decade ago. She had continued success with "Scandal" and later "Bridgerton" after having left Walt Disney's $(DIS)$ ABC for Netflix $(NFLX)$.

Thompson, of Syracuse University, said the Taylor Sheridan brand and the characters he created should be enough to draw "Yellowstone" fans to "Dutton Ranch" at first, regardless of how much of a role Sheridan plays.

"His name will bring people to the table, but whether they stay will depend on how well the replacement delivers," he said. "It will all boil down to one thing - is it any good?"

-Lukas I. Alpert

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2026 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.